Will the Pats double up at DE in 1st round?

The New England Patriots have the 17th and 28th picks in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Most believe they'll take a defensive end with one of those picks -- 62% of our mock drafts have the Pats taking a defensive end with the 17th pick.

The Pats doubled up at tight end last year with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in hopes one would pan out, and they could do it again at defensive end.

“When you have multiple picks like that, you can throw numbers at the problem, take some risk for high reward,’’ one AFC scouting director said.

The Pats also have the first pick in the second round, and this is a deep class of defensive ends, which increases the odds that the Pats will use this type of strategy.